Prince George’s County Bourbon Hunt: Weller CYPB for $149

Our bourbon hunt around Andrews Air Force Base turned up Weller CYPB for $149, about $160 out the door. We spent the day bourbon hunting in Maryland through Prince George’s County, roughly 10 miles outside Washington, DC, and found bottles worth buying alongside plenty we left on the shelf.

Andrews Air Force Base: the Shoppette and Exchange

The Shoppette’s Jack Daniel’s selection

The Shoppette had Jim Beam, some special releases, and exclusive bottles among the usual shelf staples. Its Jack Daniel’s selection was especially large, including Jack Daniel’s Heroes, a sought-after bottle in some places.

We also spotted Penelope, Willett, and Baby Jane. There was a little of everything, but some prices ran higher than we wanted to pay.

The Exchange’s whiskey and camping gear

The Exchange had a basic whiskey selection. Nothing jumped out as a bottle we needed to bring home.

The camping section was more interesting. It had Gerber knives, other camping supplies, plenty of water bottles, and what looked like an Ignik FireCan ammo-can fire box. We thought it was a handy local option for camping gear instead of heading to Walmart.

G.I. Liquors: dusty bottles behind the counter

G.I. Liquors sits right across from Andrews. Most of its whiskey was behind the counter, which made browsing harder than we would have liked.

We spotted Jack Daniel’s, Wild Turkey 101, Bulleit, and Woodinville. An older, dusty Old Forester bottle caught our attention, along with an older Wild Turkey bottle.

Those older labels were cool to see, but the mostly low-proof dusties didn’t get us excited enough to buy. The selection also lacked much organization.

Base Liquors: Blanton’s at $80

Base Liquors is another stop right outside Andrews. The selection didn’t offer much that made us want to reach for our wallets.

The main bottle of interest was Blanton’s in a small glass case, priced at $80. Everything else left us cold.

Allentown Liquors: asking below the shelf paid off

Allentown Liquors sits next to Second Avenue Thrift Store, one of our favorite thrift stores. We hadn’t visited the liquor store before, but the tall shelves looked promising from outside.

Inside, the bourbon was straight to the left. The selection was good, although the prices weren’t consistently good.

A bottle of Weller Special Reserve was on the shelf for $100, which was higher than we wanted to pay. Instead of stopping there, we asked what they had below the shelf.

First came Weller 12 Year. Then they pulled out the CYPB.

At the price we found, that CYPB was an immediate buy. This was the stop where a simple question turned up the bottle we wanted.

Clinton Liquors: Sagamore High Rye and Buffalo Trace at $39

Clinton Liquors had a basic selection, but it offered more variety than several earlier stops. Despite the “Meat” in Clinton Liquor and Meat’s name, they no longer sell meat.

WhistlePig, Rebel, and Rabbit Hole were on the shelves. We were especially pleased to see Sagamore’s new High Rye Bourbon there.

The familiar bottles included Old Grand-Dad, Russell’s 10 Year, Elijah Craig, Old Forester, and Jim Beam. Behind the counter, we could make out plenty of Basil Hayden, though that area was harder to browse.

They also had Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace at about $39, which we thought was a reasonable price. We believe the Old Charter Oak bottle was around $250, and that wasn’t something we were looking to buy.

The biggest drawback was the layout. Bourbon, vodka, and other spirits were mixed together, and some bottles had no price marked. There might be something older hiding in those shelves, but we didn’t spot any dusties worth chasing.

Chesapeake Liquors: decent selection, steep prices

Chesapeake Liquors sits next to Ledo Pizza, which we like. The storefront sign simply says “Liquor,” rather than Chesapeake Liquors, so that’s what to look for.

The shelves mixed different spirits together here, too. We checked labels for barrel-proof releases and new bottles, but most of what we saw was familiar stock.

There was Sagamore Rye, Jim Beam, Jefferson’s, and Knob Creek 12. We like Knob Creek 12, but its price here wasn’t appealing.

Some Japanese whiskey caught our attention, along with Willett, Russell’s, and an Evan Williams bottle we hadn’t seen before. Still, the bottles we might have wanted generally cost more than we wanted to spend.

Behind the counter, Weller 12 Year was around $300. Blanton’s was about $89, while Eagle Rare was $100, making Eagle Rare more expensive than Blanton’s at this stop.

Chesapeake had enough selection to browse, but its pricing kept our wallets closed.

B.K. Miller Meats & Liquor: everyday prices and store picks

B.K. Miller has been around forever, and it remains one of our favorite liquor stores. The old-school signs outside fit the place, and you can grab a printed sheet of weekly sales when you walk in.

We’ve visited plenty of times, and its everyday prices are usually strong. It reminds us of Nick’s of Calvert in that respect.

New Riff 8 Year caught our eye. We’ve been seeing it around more often, but we still haven’t picked up a bottle.

The big USA Jim Beam handle had a cool 250th-themed logo. USA Jim Beam was another bottle we brought home during the hunt.

B.K. Miller also had store picks and good Knob Creek sales. The Michter’s selection was decent, and Woodford was $35 for a liter bottle.

Willett, Bardstown, Russell’s, and Booker’s rounded out more of the bourbon selection. At the counter, they had E.H. Taylor for $59, along with newer Penelope bottles.

We spotted Binder’s Stash, Penelope’s blackberry Old Fashioned premix, and Penelope Riviera. Having someone working behind the counter also makes it easier to ask about those bottles and the store picks.

We tasted their new store pick, quoted at $8. It was a solid bottle, but it brought a lot of heat. On a hot day, we weren’t in the mood to bring home something that fiery, though we might reconsider later.

S&W Liquors: a bottle share and two store picks

S&W Liquors was our final stop, and we knew ahead of time that a bottle share was happening. We brought bottles to share and ended up staying an hour and a half.

They hold bottle shares four times a week, which is a lot. We don’t know another liquor store doing that kind of schedule.

We tried Eagle Rare 12, Old Fitz 11 Year, and E.H. Taylor Cured Oak. The Cured Oak was a particularly delicious pour.

S&W usually has a good selection, though its prices aren’t always where we want them. This visit was one of the better days for pricing.

We each bought a bottle of their Weller Antique 107 store pick. We also brought home an Old Louisville store pick, a 10-year wheated whiskey at 112 proof.

The Old Louisville came in a fancy bottle, and we thought the whiskey was a great pour.

S&W’s points system suits a regular shopper

S&W uses a points system for its fancier bottles toward the end of the year. We don’t love that setup because we hunt across stores instead of staying loyal to one. For someone near Andrews Air Force Base who wants a regular store to support, though, S&W is a good option.